Big happy Saturday to you this morning from me and the rest of the @illcallyoutomorrow crew! ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

HOUSE KEEPING:

ICYT management checking in here. Sooo we fucked up.

An internal error on the product page of our recently dropped Painters Pants prevented orders from being placed, which we have now corrected. They are now live online, with Pre-Orders now extended to 9AM Friday, July 2nd so anyone who wants a pair won't miss out.

Apologies for the confusion, DM the ICYT account on instagram for any sizing questions or further product inquiries. - @raelandmendoza

JUST LAUNCHED - ICYT Painter Pant

Now onto Ty's column!

Big happy Saturday to you this morning from me and the rest of the @illcallyoutomorrow crew! I’m in your inboxes a day later than usual as we had our hands full with the pre-order launch of the ICYT Painter Pant – go check em out if you haven’t already!

Hope everybody is doing well, staying safe and enjoying this absolutely gorgeous weather we’ve been having here in Edmonton. A heat wave is imminent with nothing, but sunshine and warm weather in the near future (knock on wood the lovely weather continues). With that being said what better way to cool down and stay refreshed with topic of ice cream bars/popsicles. This month we’ll be doing things a little bit differently. Instead of having our usual top three recommendations that sit atop the uMAHmi podium, this month’s column will be more of a photo essay on all of the frozen treats I tried this month and where to get them. It’s a hard job I know, but somebody’s gotta do the leg work/market research of the frozen treats you might not think to try and report back to the ICYT readership. BIG BARS ONLY BAYBEEEE.

Meal(ish?) Check

I’ve never had much of a sweet tooth but ice cream has always been a weakness for me. But really, let’s be honest, who’s saying no to ice cream? I went to Asia for the first time at the tail end of 2019 - a lot of things over there are a lot different than here in Canada (as you could imagine), but one constant was you could bet your bottom dollar on a convenience store having a freezer full of frozen goodies. I’d see unique flavours ranging from cheese and salted egg yolk ice cream bars to refreshing hawthorn berry popsicles (haw flakes – for all the Chinese kids that know) to everything in between. It put me on a path to try as many ice cream flavours as I could when I was in Asia. I think I got pretty damn close to trying around 40 some different frozen desserts in my three week trip to China, Macau, Hong Kong and Japan.

With the weather as warm as it has been, I often find myself driving to an Asian grocer nearby and picking up something sweet. Quick disclosure, as I mentioned before I’ve never had much of a sweet tooth, this includes me not liking chocolate. I know, I know – I’m a strange cat. Have a second to yourself to take it in and ask why. For me I’ve just never liked the taste of it as a kid, and to be frank I still don’t. My better half has found it easier to tell people I just can’t eat chocolate rather than I don’t like to eat chocolate. She claims it’s easier this way to avoid the whole song and dance of going into a conversation of disbelief with me not liking chocolate. With that said please take this month’s column with a grain of salt, I’m sure there are plenty of delicious chocolate ice cream bars out there, but I didn’t have any. Anyways grab your cooler, fill it with some ice packs and let’s get into it.

Forget a hot 16, these are the only bars needed

1. Snow Ice (Milkshake) & Watermelon Ice (HMART)

If you’ve ever been to Japan and have tried the ever so popular Coolish, Snow Ice Milkshake is the closest you’ll get to having the simple treat without leaving the country. The best way I can describe it would be like a soft serve or frostee, but not as vanilla-y/sweet, in a hand held Capri Sun-esque vehicle. It comes in a frozen block that you squish with your hands to get to that soft serve consistency that you enjoy through the nozzle at the top. It’s subtly sweet and refreshing.

Watermelon Ice is the sweeter and fruity cousin of the Snow Ice. The sweet sugary flavour of watermelon is ice cold and closer to the consistency of a Slurpee than soft serve ice cream. Still delicious, but I prefer the OG Snow Ice. Clearly the Snow Ice franchise is getting their bread because it offers many more different iterations of the popular hand held-squishable frozen treat. Coffee is next on the list to try, but they also have chocolate, cookies and cream, as well as JAWS (appears to be a fruit punch of a sort in the same lane as the watermelon – rawr XD).

2. Snow of Hokkaido – Mango and Condensed Milk & Red Bean and Condensed Milk (T&T Supermarket)

Can mango really do no wrong? Probably not. Both flavours were rich and delicious. If I were to lean one over the other, I would probably go with the Mango. The strongly distinct mango flavour paired great with the richness of the condensed milk, but wasn’t too overpowering or sweet. Texture was great – soft and almost fluffy even when kept in the freezer overnight. The red bean and condensed milk was also a winner with big chunks of red bean mixed into the sweet condensed milk. The more subtle of the two, but still a great option.

3. Pollapo Peach (A-Mart Edmonton)

I’m a sucker for anything peach flavour. The advertisement doesn’t lie on the Pollapo Peach packaging “ONE BITE! Cool and Refreshing!!” This is how freezies should taste. Sweet, but not overly sugary and very distinct flavour that doesn’t have you second guessing what flavour it should be (I’m looking at you white Mr. Freezie o_O). This pack came with 5 of them, but I’ve seen the ultra-metallic looking packs that come with a bunch of them.

4. GariGarikun Pear Ice Candy (Lucky Supermarket)

Can’t lie to y’all I bought this one just off the box art alone. This dude looks absolutely jovial, ready to stuff his face with that pear ice candy. I’ve never seen an Asian pear popsicle before so that also was a determining factor, plus this was the last box (always a good sign). This one was quite sugary, but the crisp Asian pear flavour was definitely there. A nice change up to most flavours in the cold cases.

5. Lotte Hokkaido Milk Ice Cream Bar (HMART)

For those who have never had Hokkaido Milk, or are thinking "what is so special about it?" Hokkaido is known for their dairy exports this includes milk. In Hokkaido they take the utmost care of their cows and are widely seen as producing some of the best milk in the world – it is known to be very smooth, refreshing and creamy. This ice cream bar hits on all three well known characteristics of Hokkaido milk. Plus look how adorable that cow on the box is.

BONUS UMAHMI TRAVEL TIP: When in Japan you have to try Cremia’s Hokkaido Milk soft serve, it is out of this world. The elegantly rippled soft serve is layered into a delicately crisp crepe like cone *chefs kiss*

6. A-CHINO Mango Pomelo and Sago Ice Cream bar (HMART)

This is a seriously heavy ice cream bar. Frozen mango coating on the outside of sweet cream with swirls of pomelo pulp and sago mixed in. The tartness of the pomelo cuts the sweet mango nicely making for a perfect combination. The chewy sago pearl adds texture to an overall great ice cream bar. This is on the premium side costing you more than $15 for four.

7. Woongin Green Plum Ice Bar (A-Mart Edmonton)

I thoroughly enjoyed the crisp, but slightly tart flavour of the green plum. I found it very fresh almost more on the green apple side than a plum, but it was still overall surprisingly tasty. It had an unidentifiable fruit filling that I wasn’t too mad about either. A bit on the icy side, but still every bit as refreshing as the rest on the list. This was definitely a sleeper pick of the bunch that I wasn’t expecting.

8. Shaomei Brown Sugar Boba (T&T Supermarket)

Can’t have a list of ice cream bars without a boba one on it. I like bubble tea just like the next person, but I wouldn’t say I’m obsessed about it like some people. To me, these bars are the new age classic - I think will be around for a long time and be readily stocked in a lot of household freezer. It’s sweet, it’s creamy and approachable for anybody that has a baseline enjoyment of boba. I’m still on the hunt for this one particular brand I would get when living in Vancouver. It would be the Tiger Sugar brand. A+ brown sugar flavour, A+ creaminess, A+ for boba texture. If you see it around pleeeeease let me know where I can find it locally.

9. Tsujiri Okoi Matcha (T&T Supermarket)

True to the Tsujiri banner, this ice cream bar packs tons of matcha flavour. The bold and ceremonial bitter tea is cut with the heavy cream to make for a smooth semi-sweet ice cream bar. I almost felt healthy enjoying this earthy and herbaceous bar ice cream. Any lover of matcha will be sure to enjoy this one.

10. Lelecha Honeydew Ice Cream (T&T Supermarket)

Honestly didn’t know what to expect, but this was another one that I was drawn in by the packaging. I was expecting an ice cream sandwich of a sort based on the pictures, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a beautifully packaged glass container of layered ice cream with sheets of frozen honeydew puree. Individually packaged vessels looked more like luxury skin care product bound to give you flawless skin, than the expected ice cream. The puree combined with the cream made for a simplistic and tasty combination.

11. Melona Ice Cream Bar (T&T Supermarket)

The infinity stones of the Asian ice cream bar universe. All flavours are absolute fire: Honeydew, Mango, Banana, Strawberry and Coconut. No list would be complete without the iconic rectangular bar. You can find them at most standard grocery stores now a days, even Costco sometimes carries a variety pack. My personal favourite is the OG Honeydew or Coconut.

Hope you enjoyed this month’s column and I hope you venture out with the warm weather and pick up a frozen sweetie you might not have thought to try for your next outside hang with friends. I know there are many many more grocery stores of all sorts of different cultures I didn’t get to, but I look forward to exploring them sooner than later.

You know the drill, if I missed one of your favourites hit me up, or sound off in the comments of the latest uMAHmi IG post. I’m always looking to try something. Most importantly, stay safe out there friends. Catch you next month!

Don't be like her and be caught slipping! Get your own ice cream!